Sandcastle Making
by TheDisneyFan365
Summary: Peter sets up a weekday trip to the beach for each of the families in order to get over stress. On a particular day, Charles helps Abigail start working on a sandcastle, but it grows into something bigger.


_"Location: Uninhabited, The Pacific, June 25th 2034"_

The sand was warm under Charles's feet. It felt nice, and it perhaps was one of the nicest things about the trip that had been under the orders of his Uncle Peter. Everyone had been stressed and it was hot out, so a week trip to Uninhabited, which Peter had bought shortly after the time each of the Rugrats families got stranded back on it in 2003, had been demanded. Not requested, but demanded.

The boy had also been given his own orders from Chuckie. He was supposed to have fun during the trip, but so far, he had not had any fun. He had collected shells for his new friend Fushia at her request since she could not join them. She had said she, her sister, and some other friends had to take care of something urgent but didn't say what, and also that she couldn't go near the beach at all and didn't say why to that as well. He had gone swimming, had tried an ice pop, and spent most of his days outside, as if he had stayed inside the beach house, he would no doubt get in trouble for reading and not enjoying himself. And at night, he tried to sleep through Adam's snoring, as the two of them, Benjamin, and Darin shared a room.

Charles had often found himself alone, but that was fine with him. His little sister spent more time with their parents, and Camden stayed in her room, insisting the sun and sand would ruin her hair, clothing, and skin. As he thought of going inside and finding his sister, he spotted Abigail struggling in the sand.

"Abigail? Can I help?" Charles asked.

Abigail looked up and sighed. She was surrounded by piles of crumbling sand with even more sticking to her purple swimsuit.

"They won't stay up, Charles. I've tried all morning to make a really nice sandcastle." Abigail replied.

Charles looked at the crumbling sand for a moment.

"I think you simply need more water, Abby. Can I borrow your bucket?" Charles asked.

Abigail gave the green bucket to him and he made his way to the water's edge. He looked out for a moment and spotted Adam and Emily in the water. Adam was letting the younger girl climb his shoulders and jump into the water, something both of them appeared to enjoy. Further down the beach, he could see some of the others, but he couldn't tell who it was at a distance. He filled the bucket and returned to Abigail. She thanked him, and together, they mixed the water and sand. He used her plastic shovel, which was orange, to pack her bucket full. He then placed it upside down on the sand and lifted it. The sand stayed in place.

"See?" Charles asked.

"You know a lot, Charles." Abigail replied in awe.

She clapped her hands and hugged him. He chuckled and hugged her back.

"Will you help me build it?" Abigail asked.

"Sure. How big do you want it?" Charles asked.

"Big!" Abigail replied.

She began to clear the surrounding area of shells, twigs, and other debris, while he went to get more water. After his third trip, he heard Emily shout at him.

"What are you doing?" Emily asked.

She and Adam had swam back to shore. The cousins wore matching suits, both yellow with the sides striped white.

"I'm helping Abigail build a sandcastle." Charles replied.

The cousins exchanged a look.

"Do you need anymore help?" Adam asked.

"Yeah, I think we could use help." Charles replied.

Adam crossed his arms and frowned.

"You're not going to get much done with one bucket and one shovel." Adam said.

"I think there are more in the house." Charles said.

"We'll go get them." Emily said.

Charles watched them run off, making it a race to the beach house and back. He wanted to call after them to be careful, but he stopped himself. They burst through the front door, nearly knocked over Phil, and hurried to a hall closet that had been stuffed with beach supplies. The pair grabbed an armful and tried to run past Phil again.

"Where are you two off to in such a hurry?" Phil asked.

"Abigail wants a sandcastle. And she wants it huge. So we're helping." Emily replied. She looked over Phil's shoulder, spotted Rachel, and asked "Hey, do you think Rachel would want to help?".

Phil looked at the brown haired girl, who was eating her lunch, her fingers and face sticky from fruit.

"When she finishes her lunch, I'll bring her out." Phil replied.

Adam nodded, and he and Emily ran out again. They returned to Charles and Abigail and dumped their items on the sand. As Charles sorted through the various beach toys, they decided on what they wanted to do. All Abigail cared about was the size, but she agreed on a central courtyard and that they would work their way out. And maybe add a moat, once they were done with the castle itself.

The lone tower Charles built served as their starting point. Some of the buckets brought by the Pickles cousins were short and long, perfect for building walls. Abigail and Emily started to work on the walls of the courtyard, while Charles used one of the shovels to carve a gate in the tower.

"Impressive." Adam said as he leaned over Charles to admire the gate.

"Can you do windows?" Abigail asked as she joined them.

"It shouldn't be too hard." Charles replied.

He started to carve small windows in the walls of the courtyard at even intervals. As he worked, Emily said that they could use the shells and pieces of wood for decor as well.

"Great idea." Charles said, thankful he would not have to carve dozens of windows.

"I'll sort through them." a voice said.

Charles looked up at the familiar voice and blushed. There had been no telling how long Cassi had been watching them before she made her presence known. She had her way of doing that. Her black swimsuit, with the sides cut out, helped her stick to the shadows of the palm trees. She smiled, tossed her blonde hair over her shoulder, and knelt besides the shells. She was quick with them, as broken ones were immediately returned to the sea while whole ones were placed in piles of colors and sizes.

"How about these? I can see if I can find some more." Cassi asked, holding up a few small round shells with swirls of purple and white.

"Yeah, they're fine. I like those." Abigail replied.

She had just finished taking a small rake and raking the courtyard with it. She also took a few stones from Cassi's piles to decorate the inside of the castle.

"It looks like a garden." Abigail said happily.

Charles peered over the walls and had to agree. Also in the collection of assorted buckets were several of various sizes. They would be perfect for making larger and more detailed towers. Adam and Emily started to build the larger towers while Charles sat back to take a breather. As he sat, he heard approaching footsteps. He looked up as George joined them and studied the castle.

"Looking good so far. How long do you plan on working on it?" George asked.

"Until Abigail is happy with it." Charles replied.

George chuckled.

"Let me help. That's going to take as many hands as you can get." George said.

He joined Adam and starting helping with construction on the towers near the front. The extra help did seem to make the work go faster. Before Charles had realized it, half of a larger expansion was done. It went around the side of the garden, the towers nearly two feet tall. George had even pulled some sticks that belonged to some old lollipops from his pocket, and snapped them in small pieces to go around some of the towers. A yelp from Emily surprised them all. Adam nearly knocked over the base of a tower but caught himself in time. Emily ran over to them, her eyes watery with pain and something cupped in her hands.

"I was looking for driftwood, you know, for doors, and..." Emily started to say.

She opened her hands over the center of the castle. Three small crabs landed in the garden, while a fourth clung to Emily's thumb. The redhead shook it off. Charles thought Abigail would be upset her garden was destroyed, but she laughed and called them her royal crab family. They began to scuttle around the center of the castle, but they could not get out. They would be released once the castle was done, but for the time being, it was their new home. By the time the crabs had been situated, Cassi returned with several shells, and she was not alone. Megan, Bob, and Darin had joined her.

"I did not do it on purpose." Cassi said to Megan as the four approached.

"What happened?" Adam asked.

"She nearly hit me with a shell." Megan replied.

"It was broken, and I did not need it. I did not see you there." Cassi explained.

Megan was suspicious, but she was in awe of the castle being built on the beach and knelt down to look at it.

"This is amazing. You've done all of this work today?" Megan asked.

"it isn't taking very long. It had just started off with Abigail and I. With the six of us working together, it goes quickly." Charles replied.

"I see. Then I guess you don't need my help." Megan said.

"We'll take all the help we can." Abigail said.

She was pleased with the progress of her castle, but she still felt it could be larger. She stood back to observe, her hands on her hips. Bob started to place Cassi's swirly shells in the inside of the castle walls, careful to avoid the ongoing progress. Charles had marked where he wanted them to go with small x's spaced evenly apart on the courtyard walls. They had enough shells, and some spare ones just in case.

"Oh, I know what I can do!" Megan said.

She hurried off towards the beach house. As she hurried, she passed Phil, who was leading Rachel to the beach.

"Hello, Father. Hey, Rachel." Megan greeted, stopping to face them.

"Hello, Megan. Where are you off so quickly? You're the third person to come by in such a hurry." Phil asked.

"They need my help on the beach." Megan replied.

She turned her attention to a set of large blossoms that grew near the house. They were larger than her hand and in full bloom. She began to pick them and gather small strands of ivy that also grew around the house.

"Help? With what?" Phil asked.

"A sand castle." Megan replied.

"Really?" Phil asked.

He started to wonder what was so special about this sand castle that it had put both of the Pickles cousins, and now his daughter, in such a rush.

"Then let's go see this castle." Phil said.

He grabbed Rachel's hand. She held onto the man's hand as they made their way to the beach. It certainly was impressive, he had to give them that. He walked around it, observing the intense work the children had put into it. Even the crabs seemed to enjoy their new "home." Emily and Darin worked hard to build the third wall of the outside, and Adam and Charles followed them, marking bricks into the sides with shovels. Phil turned to Rachel.

"Stay here with your brother, cousins, and friends, Rachel." Phil ordered.

Rachel nodded, having no plans to leave Charles side. He had to get their parents and show them.

Charles stood before the front of the castle, the only side missing an extra wall. The plan had been to make a huge front gate for the castle. All of them at the front would increase the risk of it falling. At that time, Megan returned, her arms full of flowers and vines. She sat down on the sand next to Rachel, a little ways away from the castle, and started to weave the ivy together. As she worked, Rachel handed her a large colorful blossom on occasion, and it became wound up in the rope she was making. Emily and Abigail took the shovels that were not being used and began to dig a moat around the nearly complete castle. Bob had managed to find a few pieces of wood, including one that would work very well as a drawbridge. They dug around the perimeter of the castle, and then placed the "drawbridge" over the front where the gate construction had begun.

The front was to stand as tall as the outer towers, but the boys wanted to attempt an arch entryway. As Adam and Charles began to form the arch, everyone else set about adding finishing touches to the castle. "Gardens" of smooth rocks and shells went up around the sides, while additions were made of Megan's extra flowers were placed atop towers. The braided ropes of ivy and pink, coral, and white blossoms were draped around the larger towers.

"Did you have to make it so feminine?" Adam asked playfully.

"I like it." Abigail replied.

"I was teasing. It looks great, actually. You're really skilled, Megan." Adam said.

"No, not really. Anyone can do it." Megan said, her cheeks a light shade of pink after hearing her cousin's words.

"Not me. Probably not Emily, George, or Charles, either." Adam said.

Brightly colored shells and rocks were placed along the moat so the sun would catch them just right. Buckets were filled with seawater, which was emptied into the moat. Smaller flowers were picked and set adrift in the water. As they waited for Charles, who was laying on his back on the sand and shaping the entrance just right with his shovel, Adam felt a hand slip something in his. Rachel had freed her curls from a white ribbon that had them up.

"Huh? Are you sure?" Adam asked.

"Yeah, it's fine. I'm fine with my hair like this for awhile." Rachel replied.

Adam nodded, tied it to a small twig, and stepped over Adam to place it at the center of the entrance. The soft breeze tugged at the white banner they had made.

"Finished!" Charles said as he sat up.

He felt color rush to his cheeks as he heard the sound of applause. He peered over the castle and past everyone to see that Phil had managed to round up their parents and anyone else he could find. Even Camden had left the safety of the beach house, though she hid under the shade of a pink umbrella. The adults joined them, each one looking over the castle and making comments. Kimi chuckled at her daughter's crab family. Megan's ropes were praised, with Angelica asking if she could teach her. Chuckie was heard remarking over the tiny details. Lil said she hoped it would hold until everyone had a chance to see it. Zack declared the structure to be perfect. Even Angelica managed a sincere smile.

"Impressive. All of you did an incredible job." Peter said.

Charles had to agree with his uncle. Although it had started as an attempt to help Abigail, it had grown into a huge project. But he, and everyone else, was satisfied with it's completion. And... dare he say it? It had been fun.


End file.
